07-10-2009
Contact:
Jill Geer
Chief Public Affairs Officer
USA Track & Field
317-713-4663
OSHKOSH, Wis. - For the second straight day, two 95-year-old men set records, but it was 75-year-old and 45-year-old women who posted the biggest mark during competition Friday at the 2009 USA Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
In the women's 75-79 year-old age group, Audry Lary set her second record of the meet with a world mark in the 400 meters. The Potomac Valley athlete ran an amazing 1:27.41 to break the existing world record of 1:27.70, held since 2002 by Great Britain's Monica Shone. On Thursday, Lary had broken the American record in the W75 weight throw.
In W45, Karen Steen of Club Northwest shattered the world record in the 2,000m steeplechase with her time of 7:07.49 to wipe out the WR of 7:16.90 set by Julie Leonard of Switzerland in 2004.
The men's 95-99 competitors continue to draw attention at the meet, as Leland McPhie of San Diego tied the world record in the long jump with his mark of 1.93m/6 feet, 4 inches for his second record in Oshkosh. McPhie on Thursday set a M95 American record in the shot put.
Max Springer of Knoxville, Tennessee, annihilated the American record in the M95 400m with his time of 2:45.36. The official record of 3:53.10 was set by Everett Hosak in 2000, while George Feinstein of Pasadena set a pending record of 3:39.64 on June 6 of this year.
Contested in the early morning hours of what turned out to be an 89-degree day, the race walks provided a pair of American records. Shirley Dockstader of Marin Racewalkers finished in 34:34.60 for a W75 AR, and John Starr of Florida Athletics finished in 33:57.72 for a record in the M80 age group.
Also on the Track, Becky Sisley of Oregon Track ran 17.32 in the W70 hurdles for an American record. On the field, Bruce McBarnette broke his own M45 high jump AR by one centimeter, clearing 1.93m/6-4 Robert Ward of Dallas broke the M75 American record in the discus, throwing 41.18m/135-1.
More than 1,000 athletes in age groups from 30 to 95 are providing an extraordinary demonstration of speed, power, skill, and endurance at the Masters Championships, showing that age is no barrier to lifetime fitness and competition. Track events will range from 100 meters to 10,000 meters, while field events will include the full range of jumps and throws. The meet runs through Sunday.
For complete results from the 2009 USA Masters Outdoor Championships, visit http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAMastersOutdoorTFChampionships/